2015 Rugby World Cup – Australia vs. Wales – Preview & Betting Tips

The following is a preview with betting tips for the 2015 Rugby World Cup Pool A clash between Australia and Wales.

Note that the majority of this content is sourced from our 2015 Rugby World Cup Form Guides, Previews & Tips page.

Australia vs. Wales

Stage: Pool A

Twickenham, London
October 11, 2015
Kick-off at 2:45 AM AEDT

Australia squad: 1. Scott Sio, 2. Stephen Moore (captain), 3. Sekope Kepu, 4. Kane Douglas, 5. Dean Mumm, 6. Scott Fardy, 7. Sean McMahon , 8. David Pocock, 9. Will Genia, 10. Bernard Foley, 11. Drew Mitchell, 12. Matt Giteau, 13. Tevita Kuridrani, 14. Adam Ashley-Cooper, 15. Israel Folau . Replacements: 16. Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17. James Slipper, 18. Greg Holmes, 19. Rob Simmons , 20. Ben McCalman, 21. Nick Phipps, 22. Matt Toomua, 23. Kurtley Beale

Wales squad: 1. Paul James, 2. Scott Baldwin, 3. Samson Lee, 4. Luke Charteris, 5. Alun Wyn Jones, 6. Sam Warburton (captain), 7. Justin Tipuric, 8. Taulupe Faletau, 9. Gareth Davies, 10. Dan Biggar, 11. Liam Williams , 12. Jamie Roberts, 13. George North, 14. Alex Cuthbert, 15. Gareth Anscombe. Replacements: 16. Ken Owens, 17. Aaron Jarvis, 18. Tom Francis, 19. Jake Ball , 20. Ross Moriarty, 21. Lloyd Williams, 22. Rhys Priestland, 23. James Hook

Recent history

The Wallabies have won the last ten straight against Wales, however six of the last seven wins were by 7 points or less.

2014-11-08 – Wales 28-33 Australia (Cardiff)
2013-11-30 – Wales 26-30 Australia (Cardiff)
2012-12-02 – Wales 12-14 Australia (Cardiff)
2012-06-23 – Australia 20-19 Wales (Sydney)
2012-06-16 – Australia 25-23 Wales (Melbourne)
2012-06-09 – Australia 27-19 Wales (Brisbane)
2011-12-03 – Wales 18-24 Australia (Cardiff)
2011-10-21 – Australia 21-18 Wales (Auckland)
2010-11-06 – Wales 16-25 Australia (Cardiff)
2009-11-28 – Wales 12-33 Australia (Cardiff)
2008-11-29 – Wales 21-18 Australia (Cardiff)

Preview:

With New Zealand likely to win Pool C, the reward awaiting the winner of this clash is to be placed on the opposite side of the draw to the All Blacks in the knockout stage. The loser of this clash would face the Springboks in the quarter-finals before possibly clashing with New Zealand in the semis. The winner will likely play Scotland in the quarter-final and then either Ireland, France or Argentina in the semi-final.

Wales enter this fixture on a 10-match losing streak against Australia, a streak that stretches back nearly seven years. Due to an unfortunate run of injuries bookmakers have installed the Wallabies as firm favourites to make it 11 in a row.

In the Wallabies camp, Michael Hooper is suspended so Sean McMahon will start at openside flanker with David Pocock remaining at No. 8. In two other changes to the squad that beat England, Drew Mitchell replaces the injured Rob Horne on the left wing while Dean Mumm takes over from Rob Simmons in the second row. Israel Folau and Matt Giteau have overcome ankle and rib injuries respectively and have been named in the starting XV.

Betting:

Fixtures between these sides tend to be close, so I would take advantage of William Hill’s promotion where if you back Australia in any RWC match in the head-to-head market and they lose by 7 points or less you get your money back up to $50. Note that this promotion doesn’t apply to residents of WA, so I would stay clear of the head-to-head market if you reside in that state.

Betting tip: back Australia in the Head-to-head market at 1.35 (William Hill)

Selection
Australia Wales	1.33 3.64	1.36 3.60	1.35 3.25	1.36 3.50
Australia Wales	(-7.5)  1.96 (+7.5)  1.94	(-7.0)  2.00 (+7.0)  2.00	(-7.5)  1.91 (+7.5)  1.91	(-7.5)  1.92 (+7.5)  1.92